Elastic Bundle Tie

ABSTRACT

An elastic bundle tie having an elongated strap and a tail that is inserted into a locking head. The self-locking head is located at the opposite end of the elongated strap from the tapered tail. The strap is a composite of a segmented ridged material and an elastic material. The tail is inserted through the head and the elongated strap is accepted within the head. The self-locking mechanism within the head latches onto the engagement teeth on the strap to maintain a user set position. The bundle tie that is formed has distributed elastic properties across the bundle. The distribution of the elastic properties provides a dampening effect evenly across the bundle, for all articles bundled, to protect the articles from applied force. The frictional properties of the elastic material may also limit movement for all articles in contact of the elastic material within the bundle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to bundle ties having improved bundling characteristics related to reliability, safety, and protection of articles bundled.

Typical bundle ties, and related variants, do not provide a reliable hold, lack characteristics to protect all of the articles bundled from applied force, have the potential to cause damage to the articles bundled, or a combination of the said attributes depending on the application. The said attributes are presented in a typical bundle tie commonly referred to as a cable tie. The cable tie has a locking head attached to an elongated strap and a tail on the opposite end of the elongated strap from the head. The tail is inserted through the head to create a loop that can bundle articles together. The material used for the construction of said cable tie allows for flexibility in the direction that the loop is formed, though the cable tie is generally smooth and stiff once the bundle has been created. The smooth and stiff characteristics of the cable tie do not allow the cable tie to reliably hold the cable tie itself or the articles bundled fixed in place. The structure of the said cable tie elongated strap does not allow lengthening when force is applied. Once the cable tie is tightened, the elongated strap is locked at this length and does not provide any dampening effect. This can cause damage to the bundled articles if there is an applied force to the articles. The said cable tie is susceptible to over tightening, which can damage the articles being bundled. The stiff characteristics and fixed length of the elongated strap present a situation where increased tightening force directly increases the cable tie bundling force on the articles bundled, which can be increased to the point of damage.

There are other forms of bundle ties which individually attempt to mitigate the stated issues. Bundle ties with an elastic layer on the elongated strap slightly improve the risk of damage to the articles bundled. However, this does not provide any dampening effect to the bundle tie through lengthening of the elongated strap. Also, the rigid material of the elongated strap takes priority over the elastic layer, which means similar damage seen in conventional cable ties can occur. Bundle ties with an isolated elastic damper provide a dampening effect through the lengthening of the damper. Though this does not evenly distribute the load of the bundle tie across the length of the elongated strap to the articles bundled and does not provide an equal dampening benefit across the bundle tie to all of the articles bundled. The prior arts stated do not provide essential reliability and safety benefits stated herein to all articles bundled.

Bundle ties would benefit to incorporate considerations for reliability, safety, and protection of all the articles bundled, which can be recognized specifically where the articles bundled could cause a hazard to the surrounding environment if any of said benefits were sacrificed. The mentioned prior arts have issues with providing an unreliable hold, not protecting articles bundled from applied force, and damaging bundled articles. The importance of a bundle tie which provides a reliable hold and safely protects all that is bundled can be seen in electrical wiring bundles. Electrical wire bundling is seen in a variety of infrastructure segments such as buildings and vehicles. Conventional bundle ties used for this purpose pose a hazard risk during application, repair, and renovation.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A bundle tie that can be applied quickly, efficiently and provide a reliable hold that will greatly reduce the risk of damaging the bundled articles during the time that the tie is applied or afterward when articles are susceptible to force. This device utilizes a composite structure, using two or more materials to obtain the desired properties. The tie uses a base structure that has elastic properties. This foundation provides lengthening characteristics to the elongated strap of the bundle tie, which will prevent damage from over tightening and will also reduce the risk of damage if force were applied to the bundled articles. Additionally, the bundled articles will be held by a formable substance, which will reduce pressure points when multiple articles are bundled together by dispersing pressure evenly. This will also help reduce the risk of damage to the bundled articles. The tie has a second layer, which is formed out of a durable, harder material. This layer is seen on top of the elastic base layer and is used to create a locking mechanism for the tie. The layer is divided up into sections, so that when the tie has tangential force applied to it, the sections separate and allow the tie to stretch, while still maintaining a reliable hold. The tail of the tie is inserted into the head, which contains the locking mechanism that engages with the secondary layer of the strap to create a reliable lock. The tie is efficiently and easily installed. The tie creates a reliable hold of the bundled articles. The elastic properties of the tie prevent damage from over tightening, disperse the force of the tie evenly over the bundled articles, and reduce the susceptibility to damage of all the articles, if there were force applied, by providing a factor of give to the articles under load. The elastic base material of the bundle tie aids to keep all articles bundled and the bundle tie itself fixed in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A specific embodiment has been detailed to depict the advantages of the invention. The embodiment is considered typical and can be modified while still maintaining the benefits of the invention. Therefore, the specific embodiment shall not be considered to limit the scope of the invention. The specific embodiment to be explained in further detail are as follows:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating the assembled elastic bundle tie;

FIG. 1B is an exploded view of a single section of the secondary layer to the elongated strap piece further illustrating the assembly of the embodiment in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is an exploded view of the elastic elongated strap piece further illustrating the assembly of the embodiment in FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This specification details one embodiment capable of providing the desired advantages that the invention offers. The specific embodiment shown is used to portray the advantages of the invention. While this embodiment may be specifically referenced to describe the advantages of the invention, the characteristics can be seen in one or more embodiments. The detail is provided for a thorough understanding of the invention, however it is seen that the invention may be practiced with a variation of the specific details, while still maintaining the advantages of the invention.

Bundle ties, also commonly referred to as cable ties, zip ties, or self-locking ties, are used to bundle, hold, and attach articles together. The present invention consists of specific characteristics that are not seen in previous arts, which provides a functional advantage over these prior works.

Conventional bundle ties have high potential to damage the articles that are bundled. Bundle ties generally include a locking head, an elongated strap, and a tail. The elongated strap is the primary component of the assembly that engages the articles to be bundled and holds them in place. The elongated strap is composed of a hard non-elastic material as the primary material on previous iterations of conventional bundle ties. Variants of the bundle tie show the use of elastic material to line the inner side of the strap to help protect the bundled articles. However, this does not provide any elastic properties to the structure of the tie itself, and does not allow the strap to lengthen. Furthermore, other variants of the bundle tie show the use of localized elastic properties, to provide a dampening effect in a single location. The isolated dampening effect of these iterations do not provide the benefits stated herein to all of the articles bundled.

Bundle ties with a strap comprised of ridged material, and those that use a rigid material as the primary structure lined with elastic material, do not allow for any lengthening of the strap. This is potentially hazardous to the articles that are bundled and does not provide the most effective hold. Bundle ties of prior art rely only on surface friction to hold the bundled articles together. Since the strap does not have elastic properties, the strap can only be tightened as much as the user is able to apply the tension on the tie. This can cause uneven loads distributed on the bundle articles, as well as an unreliable hold. This can cause damage to the articles over time.

Furthermore, articles bundled with conventional bundle ties, and variants of prior arts, are locked into place by a rigid material that does not have elastic properties, and does not provide any give when force is applied. This poses a hazard under most conditions that bundle ties are applied. Bundle ties are widely used under dynamic conditions meaning that the articles that are bundled are subject to changing loads. These loads cause significant stress on the articles that are bound together by a rigid material, even if there is an elastic lining or localized damper. Articles bundled with bundle ties can become damaged or break when loads are applied, which can also be hazardous to the surrounding environment. Even insignificant movement under typical conditions over a period of time can cause chaffing and breaking of the articles. A common use of bundle ties is seen throughout modern building structures, in which the ties are used to bundle electrical conductors. Articles such as these impose a potential hazard to the surrounding environment if damaged.

Therefore, one intent of the disclosure is to provide a bundle tie that bundles articles without causing stress points and damage to the articles that are bundled. Additionally, a further intent of the disclosure is to provide a tie that has elastic, spring like properties to enable give under loads or moving conditions. This property is aimed to protect all of the articles that are bundled at the time of bundle and also over a period of time afterward under normal load conditions, as well as accidental load applications.

An elastomer based bundle tie provides advantages to overcome all of the prior issues discussed with bundle ties that have a rigid material strap, even those that are lined with elastic material or incorporate a localized damper. The elastomer based bundle tie provides the ability for the tie strap to lengthen throughout the length of the strap and gives spring like properties throughout the fastener made with the tie, while all prior art does not.

The bundle tie is composed of three main parts; the head (1), the composite elongated strap (2), and the tail (3). The composite elongated strap (2) of the tie is composed of a primary elastic base (5) and multiple secondary shell pieces (4). The primary elastic base (5) of the tie is made of an elastic material, which gives the tie elastic, lengthening, and dampening properties. The secondary shell pieces (4) of the tie are made from a stiffer, durable material, which engage with the head (1) of the tie to create a locking mechanism. The head (1) of the tie is made from the same material used in the secondary shell pieces (4) of the composite elongated strap (2). The inner head latch engages with the grooves in the secondary shell pieces (4) of the elongated strap (2) to lock the tie into place. The locking mechanism created through the engagement of the head (1) and elongated strap (2) is seen in existing art. The tail (3) of the tie is on the other end of the elongated strap (2) from the head (1). This part of the tie is used to thread the elongated strap (2) into the head (1) of the tie. The tie can be created through double shot injection molding. First the primary elastic base (5) is formed through a first injection shot using an elastic material. Then the head (1), shell pieces (4), and tail (3) and fused to the elastic elongated strap (5) through a second injection shot using a stiff, durable material. The top shell pieces (4) are divided into parts to allow the primary elastic base (5), and overall elongated strap (2), of the tie to stretch when force is applied laterally or tangentially. 

1. The device bundles objects in a secure hold while protecting that which is bundled through elastic properties.
 1. A bundle tie including: an elongated strap, said elongated strap including a composite structure of at least a segmented ridged material and an elastic material, maintaining elastic and dampening capability across the length of said elongated strap; a tapered tail connected to said elongated strap; a tie head connected to said elongated strap on opposite end of said tapered tail, said tie head including an opening configured to accept pass through of said tapered tail and to engage said elongated strap. 